LOS ANGELES-Jones Lang LaSalle has been selected by Time Warner Cable to handle project management for the development of the company’s six new retail stores in Southern California located in Eagle Rock, Glendora, Hollywood, San Bernardino, Torrance and Westminster. The new stores are expected to open over the next six months.

Jack Kozakar and Mitch Desser of JLL’s Southern California project and development services group will lead a team to provide project management which will include lease negotiation, strategic planning, site selection, budgets and scheduling. Additionally, JLL will provide program management including assisting Time Warner Cable to roll out a national program of the new store format in 26 stores including the selection of contractors, services and products.

Kozakar tells GlobeSt.com that “of all the reactive trends going on in the market now: higher fuel costs that translate into higher costs for steel, copper, asphalt, etc.—gradual increases in construction costs—smaller boxes wanted from many retailers—a growing brick and mortar presence for on-line retailers; one of the most interesting new trends is the push for customer interfaces that are more open, informative and fun.”

He explains that what he sees from his clients is “a desire to scrap designs and construction from a previous age where customers and retail agents were separated by a counter and glass partition and immerse everyone in the same coordinated experience. The goal is to make the technology that is being sold, the various strategies for interacting with technology, upselling opportunities, on the spot learning, and the actual sale, part of the same overall customer experience.”

That change, he says, is made possible in part by fewer cash transactions.

But an even greater reason why the changes are rippling through the retail outlets, Kozakar adds, is that “there is a shift in generational expectations about what a retail experience is supposed to be.”

About Our Columnist

Natalie Dolce, national executive editor of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, Natalie was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt. Dolce's background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, Co-Ed magazine and the Daily Orange newspaper. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.